I was on a date last night and after the obligatory introduction chatter, talk shifted to interests and hobbies. After listing indie movies and food, I said that I loved following boxing.

"Really? But that's so violent. Why do you watch and what got you into it?," she said.

"I was always fascinated as a kid. Have you ever wondered what you would do if someone came to fight you? The thought of all the possibilities like throwing punches, moving, the footwork, evading shots thrown at you. It's all on display in the ring and great to watch," I said.

"Why do you think about fighting?," she asked.

"Once you've been in a couple of fights or watched pro wrestling when you were young, its something that you wonder about. What happens in a fight? How do fights play out."

"But its so violent," she countered.

"Well, it is guys getting hit, but that's not the only aspect. There's defense, evasion, creative placing of shots, movement and using the environment of the ring. The fighter's also have backstories, fight for various reasons and seeing it all play out is a hobby worth pursuing. There's also the atmosphere of a live fight or watching with friends or drinking scotch while you comment on a blog while viewing alone," I said throwing all the logic I could at her.

"I think it's violent and I don't see any merit to it," was her reply.

"Don't you see the finesse thats involved there?"

"No."

"We can agree to disagree, no problem. So what else? Big weekend coming up for you? I'm pretty psyched about watching a small local card at the Mohegan."

I pretended to pay attention to her drone on about work and friends.

As she continued to yammer on about how much she loved making quilts and baking I thought about the previous portion of the conversation. I had been dismissed explaining why I had a certain passion and yet I was pretending to be enthusiastic about quilting.

I was bored and dissed. I knew I would be giving her conversation fodder about how guys never called her back. Maybe you should try not being so judgmental of the interests of others, Missy.

The question I pose to everyone is, how do you explain to someone why you love boxing? Its natural for all of us here, but what about everyone else. How do you put it into words? What do you say? What is it that draws you to the sport. Is there a silver bullet to answer why?